Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to share best practice with and from the devolved Parliament and Assemblies on delivering improvements in educational attainment among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Officials engage with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to share best practice on topics of mutual interest and concern. Improving the education attainment of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is a regular topic at the twice-yearly four nations meetings facilitated by the British Council – the last meeting took place 7-8 November. It was also a theme of the International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP). The published report from ISTP - http://asiasociety.org/global-cities-education-network/empowering-and-enabling-teachers-improve-equity-and-outcomes-all - illustrates how England and Scotland shared recent initiatives aimed at breaking the link between social deprivation and educational and adult success.